“She’s dead. Rica. She’s already dead.”

The chest pressed against mine was heaving greatly. The bear collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

“It can’t attack us anymore. It’s okay.”

“No, you, you……”

“I’m fine. Really. You protected me. Nothing happened. Nothing went wrong.”

While holding him in my arms, I kept repeating the words I had always wanted to say whenever I saw him in my dreams.

‘It’s okay now, Rica. It’s really okay now. No one can hurt us anymore.’

How much time had passed?

I felt his tense, angry muscles slowly relaxing.

I started wiping the blood off Ricardo’s face with my sleeve, but my trembling hands made it difficult.

The bloodstains were like wounds that wouldn’t erase no matter how hard I tried. Like a sadness that spread the more I tried to remove it.

While I wiped his cheeks, Ricardo just looked at me silently with calm eyes.

Suddenly, I sensed people approaching from afar, following the barking of hunting dogs. He then held me closer and moved away as if fleeing.

After walking for a while, we heard the sound of water flowing. With a leap, he jumped over a shallow stream and gently lifted me onto a rock on the opposite side.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Having regained his composure, he flashed a smile at me before sitting down by the stream to wash his face. He seemed to think I was afraid of seeing blood. I also slowly approached and washed the blood off my hands and sleeves. When our eyes met, he smiled again. Even the smallest actions made my heart react first.

“We’ll have to walk for quite a while. We came quite far on horseback.”

“Don’t worry. I’m confident in walking forest paths.”

I said bravely and stood up with an effort. Ricardo had wet his hair with stream water, revealing his forehead clearly. Thanks to his black clothes, the blood stains weren’t very noticeable, making him look neat as if nothing had happened.

“Will the horse be alright?”

The horse that had been badly injured by the bear had fled on the spot.

“It wasn’t a fatal wound, so it’ll be fine.”

Ricardo held out his hand, and I took it naturally.

“By the way, are you going to speak informally or formally to me from now on?”

His playful tone made me blush unwittingly.

“I’ll do whatever feels right.”

Whatever feels right? While I was laughing at my own ridiculous answer, Ricardo pulled my hand and tucked it into his arm as if escorting me.

Then he tilted his head to look me straight in the eyes. My heart sank with a thud. With an enigmatic expression that was neither smiling nor not, he teasingly replied.

“Everything is up to you.”

Just say you like me outright. That would be less heart-fluttering.

His lips came closer, angling slightly, as if they would touch at any moment, but then moved away.

Afterwards, he and I walked without saying a word.

Sunlight flickered in and out between the dense pine trees. It was the kind of weather that made me wish the wordless forest path would go on longer.

By the time we returned to the entrance of the hunting grounds, it was well past lunchtime. The Emperor and the Second Prince were there, with several people gathered before them.

In the center was the massive bear, already dead. Thanks to Ricardo’s injured horse that had returned to the starting point, people seemed to already know who had hunted the bear.

As Ricardo appeared, the Emperor looked at him briefly before whispering something to the Second Prince sitting right next to him.

As I had noticed before, the Emperor never spoke at length in front of people. He just wore a bored expression and narrowed his long eyes to observe his surroundings.

The Second Prince made an exaggerated welcoming gesture, spreading both arms wide towards Ricardo.

“The real hunt starts tomorrow, but you’ve already begun.”

While the Crown Prince closely resembled his father, the Second Prince looked nothing like the Emperor.

Instead of the deep blonde hair that was said to be the symbol of the imperial family, his was light brown, and his eyes were also light brown. His overall facial features gave a vague impression, but his tall stature and sturdy build suggested he was not a man to be trifled with.

He glanced at me briefly. Somehow, it was a chilling gaze.

Ricardo ignored the Second Prince’s words and headed straight for our family’s tent. Still holding my hand tightly.

I just slightly bowed my head in courtesy and followed Ricardo hesitantly. The Second Prince, who had been glaring fiercely at Ricardo, shouted in a loud voice from behind.

“The Emperor says he will bestow you a horse. Since yours can no longer run. Ah, for your fiancée as well.”

Ignoring even his last words, Ricardo entered the tent and immediately took off his jacket. In a continuous motion, he also removed his shirt and received a new one from Freddie, who had somehow followed us into the tent.

I froze in place, unable to avert my gaze from his suddenly bare form.

That’s a statue. That’s not a person, just a sculpture. I tried to deceive myself inwardly.

Fortunately, I seemed to have avoided acting overly shocked and awkward, but I couldn’t prevent my face from turning bright red.

“And you?”

“Pardon?”

He asked casually while buttoning up. He clearly noticed my flustered state but acted as if nothing was amiss, which was quite vexing.

He could have at least given some warning before undressing.

“Don’t you need to change? Freddie, go and…”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

There was a slight blood stain on my sleeve, but not enough to warrant sending someone to bring new clothes.

“I’ll be returning to the mansion after staying a bit longer.”

As Ricardo walked to the back of the tent to get some alcohol, Freddie moved close to my side.

“The Duchess requested to see you for a moment.”

His small voice delivering the message while Ricardo was away clearly meant it was to be kept from him. I nodded in understanding and acted quickly.

“Now that I think about it, I should change clothes after all. I’ll see you again later.”

Ah, lying isn’t for just anyone. Even to my own ears, my voice sounded terribly awkward. With people like me around, the ability to discern Rochesters’ truths would surely become useless.

Before Ricardo could turn back, I hurriedly left the tent with creaking steps.

The Duchess was waiting for me in a slightly smaller tent right next to where Ricardo had been.

“You’ve come, Lienne.”

She had been calling me by name and treating me comfortably since the engagement ended. It felt so natural that sometimes I had the illusion that she had known me for a very long time.

“I’m here to see you, Your Grace.”

Of course, I still found her very intimidating and all my actions felt unnatural.

“Come here and sit down.”

“I think I should change clothes first. I just told the young master that I would change and come back.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve prepared in advance.”

The Duchess said she had already heard that Ricardo had hunted the bear. With a slight nod from the Duchess, Countess Korjena moved quickly.

The maids standing nearby quickly set up a makeshift changing room inside the tent.

I went inside and started undressing quickly. Even though there was no chance of being seen from outside, I felt strangely cautious and my heart raced.

“Just a little more endurance and we can leave this wretched hunting ground. I really hate hunting festivals. Especially summer hunts.”

‘Me too.’

I couldn’t voice my agreement out loud, but I unknowingly let out a sigh. I wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

“Lienne…”

When the Duchess called me softly, it seemed to be a signal for everyone in the tent to leave. Even the maid who was helping me dress.

I easily realized that she was about to tell me something important.

“I’ve decided to properly introduce you to people today.”

“Ah…”

My hands froze while buttoning up my shirt. I felt fortunate to be inside the changing room, as my fingertips trembled. The meaning of what she meant by ‘properly introduce’ was clear.

Putting me on the same level as the Saint.

Since the last time she asked for my opinion, she had never rushed me. I had already made my decision the night I heard that proposal, the moment Ricardo knelt before me to propose, but I hadn’t yet conveyed any definitive words to the Duchess.

I had continued to ponder endlessly after that. I reversed my decision countless times in my mind. Wavering between his smile and his coldness.

“Will all the family… be on the ship?”

Yet when faced with the moment of choice again, the answer came out so easily.

I will not leave him. Not until everything truly ends.

Not until the man who doesn’t push me away when I approach completely pushes me away.

I wasn’t sure exactly what plans the Duchess had laid out for me, but I knew it was dangerous enough to risk one’s life.

Isn’t the very thought of rising to the same level as the Saint sacrilegious?